New research has provided more evidence to support the benefits of eating eggs. Latest statistics produced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that eggs contain less cholesterol and more vitamin D than previously thought.

This latest research adds to a growing body of work that indicates eggs are an important and healthy part of the diet. Canadian research has shown that eggs help in lowering blood pressure. Another study involved participants consuming two eggs daily for twelve weeks. None of them suffered from increased cholesterol levels. There is evidence that eggs can lower the risk of heart disease, lower breast cancer risk, lower the risk of age related eye disease and lower muscle loss. A recent study by Surrey University found that eating two eggs for breakfast could help individuals to lose weight because their high protein content makes you feel fuller for a long time.

Such research has helped transform eggs from fear food to health food. Organisations like the British Heart Foundation, which until fairly recently recommended that consumers should restrict the number of eggs they ate, have now removed any suggested limit. Other health organisations have similarly moved away from advising that individuals restrict the number of eggs they eat. The change in the health debate has clearly helped to boost demand for eggs. Sales of eggs in the UK increased by five per cent in the last quarter of 2010 compared with the same period in the previous year. The growth figure was one of the biggest in recent years. At the same time, articles extolling the virtues of eating eggs can be regularly seen in magazines and newspapers.

The latest figures released by the USDA were produced by the department’s Agricultural Research Service. They were collated during a review of the nutrient composition of standard large eggs. The results show the average amount of cholesterol in one large egg is 185 mg - 14 per cent lower than previously recorded. British research commissioned by Noble Foods has previously shown that a medium-sized egg contains about 100 mg of cholesterol. The latest American analysis also shows that eggs now contain much more vitamin D than had been measured previously. Statistics indicate a 64 per cent increase in the amount of vitamin D in an egg compared with figures from 2002.

These figures all give a boost to those keeping chickens in their back garden for egg production. It was not long ago that eggs were frowned on by the medical for their "damaging" effects. Thankfully this is being put to bed at last.

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